Removable device and method for establishing a natural environment inside a helmet

ABSTRACT

An improved air supply device that is removably securable within a welding hood or similar helmet structure. The air supply device provides two thin sheets of smooth, directed air within the hood. One sheet is directed toward a lens to provide a barrier to humidity. The other sheet of air is provided back toward a user&#39;s face to provide a barrier to external fumes and to cool the user. The air supply device is designed to smooth turbulent air flow through multiple structures so supply laminar sheets of air flow within the welding hood to recreate a natural environment for the user.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 62/929,834, filed on Nov. 2, 2019, the contents of which areincorporated by reference.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

Not applicable.

REFERENCE TO A “SEQUENCE LISTING,” A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAMLISTING APPENDIX SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC

Not applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR A JOINTINVENTOR

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the field of protective and safetyhelmets, and particularly, but not exclusively, protective helmets wornduring the operation of welding equipment, otherwise referred to aswelding hoods. The present invention more specifically relates tocooling and environmental systems for use with such protective helmets.

Brief Discussion of the Prior Art

Due to extreme heat of materials, emitted light, and fumes expelledduring welding, it is necessary for welders to wear specialized helmetsor hoods. Several problems exist for users while wearing a welding hood,such as high temperatures within the welding hood, exposure to toxicfumes, and fogging of the lens. Naturally, devices have been introducedonto the marketplace in an attempt to solve these issues. A commondevice available is a cap-like structure worn on top of a user's headand under the hood, or formed as part of the hood that is attached via ahose to an external fan that introduces forced air into the hood via thecap. Such fans are typically worn on a belt and the hose extends fromthe belt on the user's waist to his or her head along the back. Thisconfiguration has several drawbacks. First, it merely alleviatesoverheating and fogging within the hood. Secondly, the hose, cap, andfan configuration cannot be easily adjusted during use and poses asafety risk, as the hose can get caught on objects without the userbeing fully aware of the hose's positioning. Other configurationsessentially mold the cap into the welding hood, such that the weldinghood has a mask that fits over and completely encloses the user's headand neck. In this type of welding hood, the air hose is connecteddirectly to this mask to provide external air flow.

None of these known air supply systems for welding hoods, however,adequately resolve the issues of overheating within the welding hood andfogging along lens or other similar structures through which the userlooks. One common structural feature that most all of the known hoodsshare is an air supply from the back of the user's head, which suppliesair from the back of the user's head toward the lens of the weldinghood. This merely pushes fumes towards a user's face. A sealed hood withan air supply member also tends to increase pressure within the weldinghood and on the user's head. The known air supply systems also tend totrap air within the welding hood. Even with a constant supply of newair, the air mass in the welding hood eventually heats up and cannotescape fast enough to prevent a humid environment within the hood. Inaddition to this, exhalation from the user's mouth and nose, next to thelens, create significant fogging. The inventors have found that an airsupply from the back of the user's head is simply insufficient toresolve the outstanding issues in the art regarding air supply systemsfor welding hoods.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the forgoing, it is an object of the present invention toprovide an improved air supply device and method for creating a naturalenvironment in a partially enclosed helmet, such as the welding hood.

A primary objective of the instant disclosure is to teach a preferredembodiment of a self-contained air filtration and conditioning devicefor protective headgear, comprising a housing containing a blower, afilter, a partially bifurcated air supply member, a power source fordriving at least the blower, and a circuit board for at least activatingand deactivating the blower, wherein turbulent air enters the housingthrough the filter and continues into the blower, the turbulent airthereafter smoothed into laminar air flow as the blower pushes the airthrough the air supply member, wherein the laminar air flow isbifurcated and expelled from the device in two thin sheets of laminarair.

A further objective is to teach an embodiment of the self-contained airfiltration and conditioning device, further comprising a fastenersecured on an outer surface of the housing for removably securing thedevice to the protective headgear.

A further objective is to teach an embodiment of the self-contained airfiltration and conditioning device, wherein the fastener is a clip.

A further objective is to teach an embodiment of the self-contained airfiltration and conditioning device, wherein the air supply member isattached at a longitudinal end to the housing and has an opposinglongitudinal free end, the air supply member increasing in width along alength towards the free end, such that the air supply member isnarrowest where secured to the housing and widest at the free end.

A further objective is to teach an embodiment of the self-contained airfiltration and conditioning device, wherein an inner cavity extendingalong the length of the air supply member is partially bifurcated by adivider extending along a partial length of the inner cavity.

A further objective is to teach an embodiment of the self-contained airfiltration and conditioning device, wherein the divider creates at leasttwo openings along the free end of the air supply member.

A further objective is to teach an embodiment of the self-contained airfiltration and conditioning device, wherein one of the at least twoopenings directs a thin sheet of laminar air downwardly and forwardlyrelative to the free end of the air supply member.

A further objective is to teach an embodiment of the self-contained airfiltration and conditioning device, wherein one of the at least twoopenings further comprises a plurality of circular openings whichtogether direct a thin sheet of laminar air.

A further objective is to teach an embodiment of the self-contained airfiltration and conditioning device, wherein one of the at least twoopenings directs a thin sheet of laminar air downwardly and backwardlyrelative to the free end of the air supply member.

A further objective is to teach an embodiment of the self-contained airfiltration and conditioning device, wherein the housing further includesan air intake channel that guides the turbulent air entering the housingthrough the filter into the blower.

A better understanding of the present invention can be had in view ofthe following drawing figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

A better understanding of the present invention is had in referenced tothe accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an embodiment of a helmet air supply device;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the air supply device of FIG. 1 along across-section A;

FIG. 3 is a side view of an alternate embodiment of the air supplydevice;

FIG. 4A is a partial plan view of a nozzle of the air supply device ofFIG. 1 along another cross-section B;

FIG. 4B is a side view of a nozzle of the air supply device of FIG. 1along cross-section A; and

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an embodiment of a helmet air supply device asinstalled in a protective helmet and worn by a user.

A further understanding of the present invention may be had through thedetailed description of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

It will be appreciated that numerous specific details have been providedfor a thorough understanding of the exemplary embodiments describedherein. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in theart that the embodiments described herein may be practiced without thesespecific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures andcomponents have not been described in detail so as not to obscure theembodiments described herein. Furthermore, this description is not to beconsidered so that it may limit the scope of the embodiments describedherein in any way, but rather as merely describing the implementation ofthe various embodiments described herein.

The description that follows, and the embodiments described therein, areprovided by way of illustration of an example, or examples, ofparticular embodiments of the principles of the present invention. Theseexamples are provided for the purposes of explanation, and notlimitation, of those principles and of the invention. It will also beappreciated that similar structures between embodiments are marked withidentical reference numbers for ease of reference.

The present invention solves the problem of fogging and overheatingwithin welding hoods by providing a device within a welding hood thatcreates a natural environment through supplying thin sheets of airacross a lens of the welding hood and a user's face within the hood. Thethin sheets of air do not increase internal pressure within the hood,provide a barrier to humidity across the lens and to external fumes, andallow for a compact device design.

A preferred embodiment of an air supply device 100 is provided inFIG. 1. The device 100 includes a housing 102 being open to an externalenvironment at opposing longitudinal ends 111 and 112. An air filter 110is secured entirely across an opening along the end 111, such that anyair 118 entering the housing 102 passes through the air filter. An airintake channel 108 provides an enclosed pathway for air entering thehousing 102 via the opening in end 111 and through the air filter 110.The air intake channel 108 guides the air into a blower 106. The blower106 is typically a motor-driven fan, but may be any similar structurecapable of mechanically driving air through the device 100. The blower106 then forces the air 118 through an opening in the end 112 and intoan air supply member 104.

The air supply member 104 is secured at a longitudinal end to thehousing 102 and around the opening at end 112, and defines an innerchamber 120 through which air flows. A width W of the air supply member104 continually increases along a length L of the member and towards afree end 113. A downwardly-extending element 131 at the free end 113contains openings 126 and 128 for air 118 to exit the air supply member104 and device 100. FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the devicealong plane A, and provides a better view of a full pathway of airflowthrough the device. Turbulent air 118 enters the device as previouslydescribed through a filter 110. The air 118 then passes through anintake channel 108 and into a blower 106. The blower 106 then forces theair into the air supply member 104. The air 118 enters the inner chamber120 of the air supply member 104 and moves toward free end 113. The airsupply member 104 has a guide 136 extending along a width of the element131 to bifurcate air leaving the air supply member 104 to create atleast two separate, thin sheets of air. Air 118 travelling through theinner chamber 120 towards the free end 113 is directed downwards by theelement 131 and exits the device 100 after being bifurcated into twoseparate, thin sheets of air by the guide 136.

The blower 106 of the preferred embodiment is a motor-driven fan alteredfrom a standard product design by reducing mechanical losses throughprecision bearing and suspension, and through mechanical design, such asblade curvature and venture design to reduce free air delivery andprovide higher velocity when operated with the fixed head pressure ofthe device 100. Downstream loading is not a factor after the air leavesthe device 100.

A circuit board 116 is secured within the housing 102 and provides atleast four functions. First, the circuit board 116 provides chargingcapability from any USB adapter, or similar adapter, to charge a battery114. Since an external charging source is required to achieve lowcharging, provision must be made to accommodate any USB charger, or anysimilar charger capable of replenishing battery charge. Many chargersproduce low enough capacity to damage the internal elements of alithium-ion capacity. Input-voltage sensing provides a means ofprotecting both the device and the internal charger. If the conditionsare inadequate to safely and correctly charge the device 100, asdetected by the circuit board, the device is inoperative.

Secondly, the circuit board 116 controls the charging current andcut-off voltage to optimize the safety and the number of charges for thebattery 114. To provide safety during and after charge of thelithium-ion battery, the pre-charge initialization charge is maintaineduntil the battery 114 is conditioned to accept fast charge. Fast chargeis then limited to provide maximum life in terms of number of chargesfor the battery. This provides vastly increased number of charges duringthe life of the device 100.

Next, the circuit board 116 provides a voltage increase and regulationto maintain constant performance over the entire discharge range and toprevent excess battery 114 drain at the end of useful battery charge. Inorder to maintain the air source characteristics, the source supplyvoltage needs to be maintained within a narrow range. Lithium-ionvoltages over the usable charge range are normally not acceptable,however the circuit board 116 of the device 100 provides this stability.The circuit board 116 raises the lithium-ion voltage to a higher/lowercurrent to provide a means of control. To protect the battery 114, bothin terms of battery life and in terms of safety, the circuit board 116is used to monitor the battery voltage and to automatically remove thebattery source when a cut-off voltage is reached.

Finally, the circuit board 116 is electrically connected to indicators140 secured to the housing 102 of the device 100 to indicate ON/OFFstates of the device and to indicate a state of charging circuitry, i.e.whether or not the battery 114 is fully charged and/or what percentageof battery charge exists. Other common indicators, including visual oraudio indicators, such as LED indicators, are compatible with the device100 and may be used with further embodiments of the device, such as toindicate operational status of the device, charging progress, warnings,and similar functional and safety statuses. An ON/OFF switch 150 is alsoconnected to circuit board 116 or to an electrical circuit connected tothe battery to supply or remove electrical power to internal electroniccomponents of the device 100 to generally power the device on and off.An example of a location of indicators 140 and the ON/OFF switch 150 areshown secured to and within housing 102 of an embodiment of the device100 shown in FIG. 3. The indicators 140 and ON/OFF switch 150 may belocated at different locations on the housing 102, and need not belocated proximate to each other. Both are electrically connected to thecircuit board 116.

The battery 114 is also secured within the housing 102 to power theblower 106 and any other electrical components contained within thedevice 100. The battery is at least electrically connected to thecircuit board 116, blower 106, and any indicators 140 present in thedevice 100. Preferably, the batter 114 is a lithium-ion battery.However, other types of batteries are usable with the device 100.

Electrical connections 138, such as wiring, electrically connectcomponents of the device 100 that are electrically powered orcommunicate electronically, such as the battery 114, circuit board 116,blower 106, indicators 140, and ON/OFF switch 150.

The air filter 110 may include any typical material or system used inthe field to meet required safety standards for welding or otheroperations under similarly hazardous conditions. For example, activatedcarbon polyester material is a suitable material for providing adequatecleaning of intake air 118. Further, the air filter 110 is removable andreplaceable to ensure continued air cleaning after long periods ofusage.

An alternate embodiment is shown in FIG. 3 having structures andelements similar to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. However, thisembodiment further includes a clip 130 for slidably and removablysecuring the device 100 to a helmet, hood, or mask. While the embodimentin FIG. 3 is removably securable to a welding hood, for example, otherembodiments of the device 100 are envisioned to be formed as an integralpart of a welding hood, or secured by other types of fasteners, such asscrews, nuts and bolts, clasps, loop and hook material, etc.

FIGS. 4A-4B show views of the air supply member 104 of the preferredembodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 along cross-sectional planes. FIG. 4Ais a top view of the air supply member 104 along plane B, whichillustrates the chamber 120 and air flow within the chamber and out ofthe air supply member 104 through openings 126 in a forward-orientedrestrictor surface 134 and through an elongated opening 128 along a backwall 144 of the element 131. The restrictor surface 134 is angled toallow air from openings 126 to exit downwardly and forwardly relative tothe device 100. A guide 136 extends along the width of the element 131and upwards along a height H between openings 126 and 128. The guide 136provides an angled surface to direct air flow through the opening 128downwardly and backwardly, and toward a user's head, while also creatinga downward, forwardly-oriented sheet of air through openings 126. Theguide 136 assists in bifurcating airflow out of the air supply member104. As previously mentioned, the width W of the air supply member 104increases from the housing 102 towards the free end 113 to assist withsmoothing out turbulent air into the thin sheets of air produced throughbifurcation. The change in width W along the air supply member may varyin other embodiments.

FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view of the air supply member 104 alongplane A. Air entering the air supply member 104 from the blower 106enters the chamber 120 and moves toward the free end 113 of the airsupply member and the element 131. Upon reaching the free end 113, theair is directed downward by a forward wall 142 of the air supply member104. The air exits the air supply member 104 through openings 126 and128 as separate thin sheets of air, wherein the openings extendslinearly across the width W of the air supply member and element 131.The openings 126 and 128 are linear or have multiple openings orientedlinearly to create two separate sheets of bifurcated air. In thisembodiment, openings 126 include multiple circular openings orientedlinearly and opening 128 is a single, elongated linear opening. Othercontemplated embodiments may have the openings 126 and 128 oppositelyoriented, with two elongated linear openings, or with two linearlyoriented rows of multiple openings. The exact size and shape of theopenings 126 and 128 may vary as desired to provide the desiredcharacteristics two thin sheets of air and/or to conform to thedimensions of a specific protective helmet. Further, in this embodiment,the height H of the air supply member along the chamber 120 graduallydecreases from the housing 102 towards the free end 113. In otherembodiments, the height H may remain consistent.

FIG. 6 shows a diagram illustrating the air supply device 100 installedinto a welding hood 200, either via a clip 130 or integrally formed withthe hood 200. As shown, the air supply device 100 attaches to a topsurface of the welding hood 200 such that the device is positioned abovea user's head 206. The openings 126 and 128 are positioned in above andin front of the user's head such that a forward thin sheet of air 150exits downwardly and slightly forward relative to the user's face fromthe openings 126 to provide a barrier to humidity along a lens 204. Abackward sheet of air 152 exits downwardly and backwardly toward theuser's face from opening 128 in a manner such that the sheet of airblows ideally across the user's face above the eyes. This sheet of air152 also exhausts air from the welding hood, and provides airreplacement and evaporative cooling to the user. The two sheets of air150 and 152 create barriers across the lens 204 and across peripheralopenings 208 of the hood 200 between the edges of hood and user's face.

The device provides two sheets of smooth, directed air, one each fromopenings 126 and opening 128, within the welding hood 200. These twosheets each provide a barrier; the forward sheet 150 across the lens 204acting as a barrier to humidity to prevent fogging of the lens, and thebackward sheet 152 back across and down the user's head to preventexternal air, including potentially harmful fumes, entering from thebottom or sides of the welding hood 200. The external air prevented fromentering the peripheral openings of the protective helmet does notinclude the intake air 118 entering through the air filter 110. Byproviding such barriers, there is no requirement to continuously filter,clean, and/or recycle large volumes of air, as is necessary in known airsupply systems. Using this barrier method also reduces the amount ofenergy required to maintain a natural internal environment inside thewelding hood. The reduced amount of energy required to accomplish thismethod allows the necessary structures to be self-contained within thedevice 100, which fully fits within the welding hood 200. This reductionin size and necessary components is an improvement over known coolingsystems, which often include full head covers, hosing, and air intakesystem attached to the user's belt.

Importantly, turbulent air must be smoothed and directed to achieve alaminar flow of thin sheets of air applied by the device 100. Severalstructures are crucial in accomplishing the necessary conversion fromturbulent flow to laminar flow. First, turbulent air enters the devicevia the opening 111 and through the air filter 110. Next, the cfm value(cubic feet per minute or cu ft./min), which measures velocity of airflow into or out of a space, of the air intake into the device 100 andair leaving the blower 106 are exactly the same value. With air intakeand blower cfm values the same, the narrow width of air intake member104 attached to the housing 102 near the blower 106 acts as a choke thatincreasingly smooths the air as the width W of the air supply member 104continually increases towards the free end 113. The air supply member104 is put under pressure to further smooth and reduce air flow throughthe openings 126 and 128. The exact pressure and velocity internal tothe device 100 are not necessarily specific values, but are linked. Thepressure and velocity will be fixed for each combination of air sourceand device configuration. Natural characteristics of incoming airpressure, altitude, humidity, etc. will affect specific values, but theeffects are self-adjusting. For example, increased density of the airmass means lower velocity of air required. Once a combination ofpressure and air velocity is selected, the variations of use of thedevice 100 are minimal.

The openings 126 and 128 are designed to supply the thin sheets of airacross a protective helmet, or the welding hood 200, as necessary toachieve uniform distribution. Areas farther from the center of thewelding hood 200 require more volume than centrally located areas. Thedevice 100 further minimizes compensation for varying empty spaces inthe helmet. The effectiveness of the device 100 at achieving intendedfunctions within a hood is determined by maintaining a velocity of airpast critical surfaces, such as the lens 204 and user's head 206. Theboundaries of these surfaces maintain air speed near the surface, withslowing occurring as the distance from the surface increases. This meansthat the speed of the air flow at openings 126 and 128 is maintainedacross the relevant surfaces to produce the intended barriers, eventhough the speed in the larger empty volume of the hood 200 is reduced.This effect requires velocity, not volume. While the shape and spacingof the openings 126 and 128 are designed to produce this effect, theirprecise dimensions, spacing, and orientation are chosen to match othercharacteristics of the device 100, such as the blower 106 and air supplymember 104, in order to produce the two thin sheets of smooth,non-turbulent air. I/We claim:

1. A self-contained air filtration and conditioning device forprotective headgear, comprising: a housing containing a blower, an airfilter, a power source for driving at least the blower, and a circuitboard for at least activating and deactivating the blower, and apartially bifurcated air supply member attached at an end to thehousing, wherein turbulent air enters the housing through the air filterand continues into the blower, the turbulent air thereafter smoothedinto a laminar air flow as the blower pushes the air to and through theair supply member, wherein the laminar air flow is bifurcated andexpelled from the air supply member as two thin sheets of laminar air.2. The self-contained air filtration and conditioning device of claim 1,further comprising a fastener secured on an outer surface of thehousing, the fastener configured to removably secure the device to theprotective headgear.
 3. The self-contained air filtration andconditioning device of claim 2, wherein the fastener is a clip.
 4. Theself-contained air filtration and conditioning device of claim 1,wherein the air supply member is attached at a correspondinglongitudinal end to the housing and has an opposing longitudinal freeend, the air supply member increasing in width along a length towardsthe free end, such that the air supply member is narrowest where securedto the housing and widest along the free end.
 5. The self-contained airfiltration and conditioning device of claim 1, wherein the air supplymember has a downwardly-extending element extending along a width of afree end of the air supply member, and a divider upwardly extends alonga bottom surface of the downwardly-extending element.
 6. Theself-contained air filtration and conditioning device of claim 5,wherein the divider partially separates at least two openings along thedownwardly-extending element.
 7. The self-contained air filtration andconditioning device of claim 6, wherein one of the at least two openingsdirects a thin sheet of laminar air downwardly and forwardly relative tothe free end of the air supply member.
 8. The self-contained airfiltration and conditioning device of claim 7, wherein one of the atleast two openings further comprises a plurality of linearly-orientedcircular openings which together direct a thin sheet of laminar air. 9.The self-contained air filtration and conditioning device of claim 6,wherein one of the at least two openings directs a thin sheet of laminarair downwardly and backwardly relative to the free end of the air supplymember.
 10. The self-contained air filtration and conditioning device ofclaim 1, wherein the housing further includes an air intake channel thatguides the turbulent air entering the housing through the air filterinto the blower.
 11. A method for cooling and protecting a user wearinga protective covering over a face of the user, comprising: supplying airtowards peripheral openings of the protective covering around the faceof the user, wherein the supplied air is delivered in two thin sheets ofsmoothed air; creating a barrier along a lens of the protective coveringby supplying one of the two thin sheets of smoothed air across the lens;creating a barrier to external air around the peripheral openings of theprotective covering by supplying another of the two thin sheets ofsmoothed air across the user's face and toward the peripheral openings;and cooling the user with air replacement and evaporative coolingprovided by the two thin sheets of smoothed air, wherein theself-contained air filtration and conditioning device of claim 1 isattachable to the protective covering to supply and deliver the air intwo thin sheets of smoothed air.
 12. A method for cooling and protectinga user wearing a protective covering over a face of the user,comprising: supplying air towards peripheral openings of the protectivecovering around the face of the user, wherein the supplied air isdelivered in two thin sheets of smoothed air; creating a barrier along alens of the protective covering by supplying one of the two thin sheetsof smoothed air across the lens; creating a barrier to external airaround the peripheral openings of the protective covering by supplyinganother of the two thin sheets of smoothed air across the user's faceand toward the peripheral openings; and cooling the user with airreplacement and evaporative cooling provided by the two thin sheets ofsmoothed air.